Losing Ground
by badly-knitted
Summary: JJ knows nobody could love Dee more than he does, so why does Dee persist in chasing after someone he'll never win? Written for Theme Prompt: 028 – Rival at fandomweekly. Set throughout the manga.


**Title:** Losing Ground

**Author:** badly-knitted

**Characters:** JJ, Dee, Ryo.

**Rating:** PG

**Setting:** Vol. 1, Act 3, Vol. 2, Act 5, Vol. 6. Act 17.

**Summary:** JJ knows nobody could love Dee more than he does, so why does Dee persist in chasing after someone he'll never win?

**Word Count:** 1165

**Written For: **Theme Prompt: 028 – Rival at fandomweekly.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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Of all the things that might have happened when JJ Adams found Dee Laytner again, the one that did was something he was totally unprepared for. True, he hadn't seen Dee in several years although his feelings towards the man of his dreams remained unchanged. It was also true that the delectable Dee Laytner had never reciprocated JJ's feelings, although he was certain he could wear the black-haired, green-eyed love god down, given enough time. However stubborn Dee might be, he was surely no match for JJ's own brand of dogged persistence. They were meant to be together; Dee couldn't deny destiny forever.

But when JJ joined Dee at the 27th Precinct, after running headlong into Dee's manly arms he ran headlong into the impossible. He had a rival for Dee's affections.

Dee's current work partner, Randy something or other… for some unaccountable reason, Dee seemed to have the hots for him. Okay, JJ supposed he wasn't bad looking, although he'd never match JJ for sheer cuteness, but still, what was Dee thinking, throwing himself like that at another man? It was undignified!

To add insult to injury, Chief Smith seemed to consider this Randy person to be almost as good a marksman as JJ, making him a rival for the position as squad sniper too! In his dreams! As if he could ever be so much as half as good as JJ!

It was a nightmare! Nothing was going the way JJ had expected.

It came as some slight relief when Dee's partner admitted they'd only kissed, although he claimed it hadn't even been consensual on his part. Nevertheless, the very fact that Dee would try to seduce this Randy, Ryo, whatever, set JJ's teeth on edge. No matter what it took he was determined to make Dee fall head-over-heels in love with him, because no one else would ever be good enough for Mr Wonderful!

Every day JJ had to watch his Dee-lightful Dee mooning over that… Ryo! It was sickening. Couldn't he see Ryo wasn't interested? That was the only good thing about Dee's ridiculous obsession; from the way Ryo acted Dee was barking up the wrong tree, but for some reason he simply refused to give up his pursuit of the unattainable man of ice he worked with, while JJ seethed with red-hot frustrated lust just yards away, ready and more than willing to give Dee all the loving he could handle.

"Open your eyes, you gorgeous idiot! He doesn't want you!" JJ muttered under his breath. "But I do, and I'd make you SOOOO happy, I swear I would!"

So it went on, JJ adoring Dee, worshiping the ground he walked on, while Dee made a spectacle of himself drooling over Ryo, and Ryo paid no attention whatsoever except to snap at his partner when he got handsy. Day after day it was the same thing; JJ had to work alongside not only the man of his dreams but his despised rival, and Ryo was just so… nice. It wasn't fair. He was a good shot too. Not as good as JJ of course, but way better than the rest of the squad. Being rivals would have been so much easier for JJ if he could have hated Ryo the way he deserved to be hated. But he couldn't.

Naturally just as JJ was starting to accept that Ryo was really a nice guy putting up with the misguided and unwanted attention from his partner with surprisingly good grace, what did the bastard go and do? The moment JJ's back was turned, or at least while he was visiting the LAPD to show their sharpshooters a thing or two, Ryo took off on vacation to England of all places, and he took Dee with him! Of all the underhanded tricks, pretending he wasn't interested in Dee's advances then sneaking off with him on a romantic getaway! That was the last time JJ would trust a word that came out of that two-faced liar's mouth! Obviously there was only one possible thing JJ could do; he begged the Chief for time off and went after them. He had to save his darling Dee from Ryo's fiendish clutches!

Ryo seemed puzzled when JJ showed up at the hotel.

"JJ! I never thought I'd see you here. Aren't you supposed to be in L.A.?"

"I finished up there and came home only to find that you'd dragged Dee away on vacation without telling me. That was very rude of you!" JJ admonished.

"It's not like I invited Dee; he invited himself along."

Oh, like JJ was ever going to believe that! He didn't know what kind of game Ryo was playing, but it wasn't going to work; JJ could see right through him. This was war! May the best man win, and that was obviously going to be JJ himself.

Dee might not realise it yet but he belonged to JJ, and nothing was going to change that. No, not even the time he caught Dee in Ryo's bedroom with the door locked, the two of them getting all cosy, and Ryo with barely anything on. Sure, they weren't actually doing anything right at the moment JJ burst in, but they must have intended to or why would they have locked the door?

How could Dee betray him like that, sneaking off to be with Ryo? Obviously it must have been Ryo's idea. If there hadn't been a serious situation to deal with, JJ would have had some harsh words for Mr 'I'm not interested in Dee that way' Maclean. Just when JJ was once more beginning to think of Ryo as kind of a friend… Well forget that; they were rivals, always had been and they always would be! How could they be anything else? They couldn't both be Dee's one and only.

But deep down, more and more JJ was beginning to feel as though he might not come out of this rivalry as the winner. He'd been pursuing Dee for years yet despite all his wishing and hoping, if he was honest he couldn't see that he'd made the slightest headway with the man of his dreams. Even on those occasions when Ryo walked away leaving JJ alone with Dee, he could tell Dee didn't really want to be there, would have rather followed Ryo to the ends of the earth. JJ just wished he knew why. What did Ryo have that he didn't, other than all of Dee's attention? What made him so special?

'If I were to lose Dee after all this time, what would I do?' JJ thought, misery flooding through him. Dee had been everything to him for such a long time. He sighed sadly, beginning to feel the first hints of inevitable defeat. 'But then, despite all my efforts I've never really had him, have I?'

It seemed he was losing ground. How could he hope to win someone who didn't want to be won?

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The End


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